Dampfzentrale Bern: Salary scheme for fair wages at cultural institutions in Switzerland
Dampfzentrale Bern commissioned the Centre for Cultural Management ZHAW to conduct the «Vorstudie Löhne Freie Kulturszene Schweiz» (Preliminary Study on Wages in the Independent Cultural Scene in Switzerland). Based on this, it has developed a scheme for fair standard wages for permanent employees at independent production houses in Switzerland.
This fair pay table is based on the Austrian model, «Fair Pay für Kulturarbeit». To date, no standardised guideline wages nor recommendations exist for employees in production, communication, management and technology at cultural institutions in Switzerland. The tpunkt professional association’s standard fees primarily affect freelancers.
ZHAW’s preliminary study provides an inventory of the current wage situation at independent production houses (focus: guest venues for dance and theatre). The results can also be transferred to cultural centres focusing on other genres.
A salary scheme was created on this basis, enabling cultural institutions to commit to transparent, fair wages. Every cultural institution’s core business is the presentation, discussion and communication of artistic creation. The salary scheme is based on the idea that commercial and artistic professions should be given equal weighting at similar levels of responsibility.
Why is this tool necessary?
The salaries of permanent employees at Swiss cultural institutions are well below average when compared with similar positions in other sectors. This exacerbates the shortage of skilled personnel, weakens social sustainability and negatively impacts the qualitative consistency of work performed at institutions. To date, there are no standardised guideline wages and recommendations for employees in production, communication, management and technology at cultural institutions in Switzerland. The standard fees of the professional association tpunkt and the endeavours as part of the 2025–2028 cultural message primarily concern freelancers.
What this tool do?
The new salary scheme offers an easy-to-use, transferable, transparent modular system for application to all positions in a cultural institution.
Who is this tool for?
Cultural institutions in Switzerland that want to commit to fair, transparent salaries.
Focus: guest venues for dance and/or theatre
What does this tool consist of?
Its central element is a modular system that can be used for all positions in a cultural institution. The basis for this was provided by the results of ZHAW’s preliminary study.
Information on wages in the cultural organisations (all values)
Information on wages in the cultural organisations (median)
Information on wages in the cultural organisations (average)
Impressum
Dampfzentrale Bern
Karin Bitterli (Commercial Director Dampfzentrale Bern), bitterli@dampfzentrale.ch